We exited the treasure room, but I got nothing from the guards outside the door. At the entrance to the mine, the others lined up, staring at me like I’d grown another head. I raised a hand near each of them but found nothing wrong. Nothing off. Nothing that Karma needed to handle. A tingle raced down my spine, and I turned toward the deep, creepy tunnel.
Darn it. Of course, I'd need to go that way. I followed the feeling, trying not to fall over the uneven ground as I moved faster and faster. The lantern light blurred together on both sides of me. The sounds of the men followed behind me, but how many, I didn’t know, then the tingle grew painful. I shifted off the main path and slid into a small, dark opening.
“Karma, there’s nothing down there,” Regmun shouted, but my powers said otherwise.
I kept following until I found a room. A room darker than any night I’d ever experienced. I fell to my knees, reaching my hands out, for what, I wasn’t sure. I kept going forward, instinctively crawling, until my hands glided through what I was pretty sure were gems. Lantern light came from behind me, slowly glowing brighter as the person carrying it got closer, but a vision slammed into me, chasing the light away.
An older woman in a white dress. The dress moved around her in an unseen wind. Grey darkened the ends of the fabric. Her long, gray hair spilled behind her. Stealing the gems. Creating chaos. She turned to me again, and the blank skin where her face should've been sent chills down my spine. “I’m coming for my powers, Emma. I'll have what rightfully belongs to me.”
The vision faded away, and I was back in the cave, now well lit. It was very small. Regmun stood over me with a lantern, large and imposing in such a small space. The other dwarves had followed with their own lanterns and gasped when they discovered the gems. We all barely fit in the room.
I looked up at the King of the Mountain. “None of them stole your gems.”
“How is that possible?” His face was pale, his eyes wide.
I hesitated, then asked, “Have you seen an older woman in a white gown?”
His face grew even paler. “The ghost. Aye. We’ve all seen her.”
“She’s not a ghost. She was your thief,” I said, now tired and shaky. Glancing behind me, I frowned. “Where’s Daniel?”
It took Regmun a moment to answer. “Your bear couldn’t fit.”
Feeling weak, I offered him my hand. “Can you take me back to him?”
The king did as I asked, but not before barking at the others to return the gems to the vault. Daniel looked worried when he finally spotted me, and in seconds I was in his arms. He carried me back to the car. Neither of us said a word until we were driving away from that place, but then I did.
“It was Karma. The original Karma. She’s come for her powers.”
6
EMMA
After a snack and some water,I felt loads better. I took Daniel’s hand again and smiled at him. He glanced my way for a tick but kept his gaze on the winding road. Sinking into the chair, I pulled in a slow, deep breath. This whole day had been so weird. Everything, since Alice first told me someone's coming for my powers, had been weird. These visions about another Karma coming for my power made me so curious about the history of Karma, and about where these powers came from. How they passed from one to another.
“So." He drew out the word as he slowed to go around a hairpin curve. "The original Karma is coming for your powers?” Daniel asked. He kept his voice light, but it was laced with worry he couldn't hide.
I sighed. “I met the original Karma. She seemed kind and wonderful. Any time I look back at that day, it's clear she'd been ready to give up her powers. She chose me. She thought I was the right person to give them to. If it’s her, something terrible must have happened to her. Maybe losing her powers has twisted her in some way.” I shook my head. “I don’t know, but I can’t shake the feeling that the things that have been happening today are connected to her and to Alice’s vision.”
Daniel’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. “Is it even possible for her to take her powers back?”
I shook my head and watched the trees fly by. “I don’t know. She gave me her powers, so I imagine it’s possible for me to give them back.” When he didn’t say anything, I couldn’t help but speak one of my fears aloud. “Do you think things will change with you and my friends if I lose my powers?”
Daniel lifted a brow and glanced in my direction. “Before, we couldn't tell you. Now you know. You won't un-know it if you don't have your powers. Certainly, we won’t love you any less. We won’t want to be around you any less. Powers, the supernatural, it’s not as important as who we are as people.”
I smiled, feeling some of the tightness in my chest ease. “Thanks. It feels like life was so hard before I got my powers. I mean, I loved raising my son. Travis is an incredible kid, and I was proud of building a business, but everything else was rough. I don’t want to lose this amazing life.”
“Your new life has everything to do with you and little to do with your powers,” he told me with a reassuring smile.
I nodded and looked out the window, watching the scenery. He was right. It was the strength and courage within me that had allowed me to build a new life. I just hoped that I could keep it. I let out a deep breath and nodded. “I’m counting on that. No matter what happens with Karma and my powers, I still have you and my friends and my life to keep me grounded.”
Almost faster than my eyes could follow, a flash of movement to my side drew my gaze as Daniel slammed on the brakes. The speedy movement turned into a tree falling in some sort of hyper-slow motion in front of the truck. The massive trunk missed the hood by inches and hit the ground so hard it shook the truck. As all of this happened, I flew forward, but Daniel’s arm and the seat belt caught me before my head slammed into the dashboard. Except for our rapid breaths, an eerie silence had fallen along with the tree.
“Oh my gosh,” I said when I could remember how to talk. “That was almost very, very bad.”
Daniel slid the truck into park and said, “Stay here. Lock the doors. Don't get out.”
Before I could ask him more, he got out of the truck, and I reached over and locked both doors, even though my body buzzed from the near accident. Probably adrenaline.
